1. To move awkwardly or act urgently, often using hands or competing for limited time or resources.
2. To mix or rearrange things so their original order is disrupted.
3. To change a signal into a form that cannot be understood without the right decoding process.
Use it for
Words that belong together
- scramble up a slope
- scramble for cover
On the page
They scrambled up the bank as the water rose.
Nearby words
Word forms
- Base
- scramble
- Past tense
- scrambled
- Past participle
- scrambled
- Present participle
- scrambling
Full tense & aspect guide
- Present
- scramble
- Present continuous
- am/is/are scrambling
- Present perfect
- have/has scrambled
- Present perfect continuous
- have/has been scrambling
- Past
- scrambled
- Past continuous
- was/were scrambling
- Past perfect
- had scrambled
- Past perfect continuous
- had been scrambling
- Future
- will scramble
- Future continuous
- will be scrambling
- Future perfect
- will have scrambled
- Future perfect continuous
- will have been scrambling
Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.
Usage notes
Primary category: literary / elevated general. Forms: scramble; scrambles; scrambled; scrambled; scrambling Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Commonness: moderately common. Third-person singular: scrambles.
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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